OU assistants free to leave, Stoops says

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- As college football coaching vacancies pop up across the country, the names of some Oklahoma assistant coaches are sure to get mentioned as possible replacements.

Should any of them choose to leave, head coach Bob Stoops won't be blocking the exit.

"My coaches can go wherever they want to go, when they want to go. I'll be happy for them," he said Monday. "Your program is bigger than any one player or coach, and I include myself in that.

We'll continue to operate the way we have and continue to work."

Stoops said assistant coaches have to make a decision that they feel is best for themselves and their families -- period. The notion that other schools could "raid" his staff, he said, is ridiculous.

"I'd be all for it. Time doesn't wait," he said. "I'd thank 'em for the great job they've done for us and wish 'em the best.

You can't worry about time. You've got to do what's best for your life when you've got to do it, and that's just the way it goes."

Offensive coordinator Mark Mangino and co-defensive coordinators Mike Stoops and Brent Venables are coaches who are most likely to be mentioned as possible candidates for head coaching jobs.

Bob Stoops says much of the credit for Oklahoma's success should go to his assistants. The Sooners (10-0) are ranked No. 1 and in the running for a national championship in just Stoops' second year on the job.

"We have a great chemistry," he said. "They know that everything that happens around here, we share in it all together.

Isn't just me, it isn't just one of them. We're all very respectful and close to one another as well as our families, and we do have an excellent working environment.

"I like to think we've made it as good an assistant coaching position as there is anywhere and that they appreciate that."

He said he did not know of any of his assistants being contacted officially about the job at Missouri, where Larry Smith was fired Sunday after seven seasons.

If schools do come courting OU assistants, they will get quality coaches, Stoops said.

"All of them are very detailed, they're organized, they're motivators and they've been in solid programs that know how to win," he said. "So, they all have those kinds of habits and integrity that you'd want."